On-Location Filming Rises in L.A.

Production crews working in Southern California — specifically in the Los Angeles region — are staying busy as on-location production increases in 2011. FilmL.A., the not-for-profit community-benefit organization that coordinates permits for shoots in L.A., announced that filming in Los Angeles County has increased by 15.4 percent in the third quarter of 2011 when compared to the same period in 2010. The quarter was marked by a welcome surge in on-location shoots for feature films and an anticipated decrease in the production of TV dramas.

This increase in L.A. filming can be credited to the California Film and Television Tax Credit Program as a proven job creator. “It’s important to remember that increases in local production days mean local workers are being hired and local businesses are seeing a benefit,” says FilmL.A. President Paul Audley. FilmL.A. reports that Los Angeles feature-film production increased by almost 50 percent for the quarter, with eight feature projects qualifying to receive state credits from the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program. These projects generated 12.5 percent of overall feature-film production. State-qualified feature films that were shot locally include Gangster Squad (starring Ryan Gosling and Sean Penn), Argo (directed by Ben Affleck), This Is Forty (directed by Judd Apatow), Breaking the Girl, My Mother’s Curse, Think Like a Man, We Have Your Husband and He Loves Me. Other major projects driving up feature-film activity in L.A. include The Dark Knight Rises (directed by Christopher Nolan), Savages (directed by Oliver Stone) and End of Watch (starring Jake Gyllenhaal).

TV production in Los Angeles increased by almost 6 percent in the third quarter, driven by a rise in reality television shows (up 30.4 percent), sitcoms (up 12.6 percent) and pilots (up 88.5 percent). Last summer, more than 100 new reality TV productions started shooting in the Los Angeles area. TV dramas shot in L.A. dropped by 20.3 percent (as a result of the loss of 10 one-hour drama series) with six incentivized projects accounting for 10.4 percent of the area’s TV drama days. The production of TV commercials rose by almost 17 percent for the same period. This quarterly increase comes on the heels of a second-quarter loss, resulting in a 3.4-percent increase in the category’s year-to-date production.